The Boy Scouts of America and SFI will expand their working partnership so they can do a lot more together to demonstrate forest stewardship and environmental education for America's youth. Through a memorandum of mutual support, SFI will provide volunteer forestry expertise to Scout units, and the Boy Scouts of America will continue to embrace SFI certification and promote the wise use of natural resources.

LEED Debate Continues

The SFI Good for Forests blog continues to highlight the positions of experts calling on the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to open up its LEED rating tool to all forest certification standards.

Award-winning Georgia tree farmers Earl and Wanda Barrs say USGBC can strengthen markets for family forest owners by offering incentives for wood certified to all credible standards, including SFI and the American Tree Farm System. Robert S. Tomlinson of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says SFI promotes exceptional practices and continuous improvement - and credits it for helping to keep the state's forest products industry viable during the economic downturn.

The fourth round of commentson the latest draft of its LEED 2012 language closed on May 28. USGBC announced they will now hold the vote on LEED 2012 starting on August 15th.

Congress Weighs in With USGBC

A bipartisan group of Members of Congress sent a letter this week to Rick Fedrizzi, President & CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, urging USGBC to "accept all credible forest management certification systems for qualification under the LEED rating system," because it "will provide a great incentive for the utilization of domestically produced forest products." The letter was signed by Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, (R- PA), chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry, Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), and six other Members. SFI and AFF issued a news release applauding the letter.

Farmweek Features SFI-Lauderdale Habitat for Humanity Project

Mississippi's Farmweek agricultural television news ran a seven-minute itemabout the Mississippi SFI Implementation Committee's support for a Lauderdale County Habitat for Humanity project. Featuring interviews with SFI participants, Habitat for Humanity officials and the new homeowners, the item talks about the benefits of SFI certification and tracks donated lumber from the forest to the mill to the manufacturer. The home is certified to the NAHB National Green Building Program, one of many rating tools that recognize all credible third-party forest certification standards, including SFI.

Spotlight on SFI and Biodoversity

SFI Inc.'s newest brochure - Conserving Biodiversity and Wildlife Habitat- shows how the program conserves wildlife habitat, water quality and biodiversity through its standard and its support for research activities and landowner outreach. It features projects led by SFI program participants and partners that are making a difference across North America.